Houston secondary gets job done against dangerous Bucs duo

Matthew Costa

Published 4:03 pm, Monday, September 28, 2015

It’s easy to see why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a certain fondness for their passing attack; just take a look at its wealth of receivers starting with second-year stud Mike Evans, and three-time pro bowler Vincent Jackson.

The Houston Texans much-maligned secondary took that challenge to heart, and held one of the best receiving corps in the NFL in check nearly all game in their 19-9 win Sunday at NRG Stadium.

Both Evans and Jackson stand at 6-foot-5-inches and 230 pounds, but corners Kareem Jackson, Johnathan Joseph, and rookie Kevin Johnson were enough to hold the two to nine catches and zero touchdowns.

“We just tried to mix it up a little bit,” Kareem Jackson said. “Big receivers are going to make some tough catches. All you can do is put yourself in a position to try and make some plays. Later on, we were able to do that.

“Regardless if the receiver is big, small, or whatever, you’ve got to try to mix it up and do some different things. Whatever’s being successful for you.”

It didn’t seem as though the secondary was going to be able to slow down Evans early on though. The former Texas A&M Aggie did most of his damage in the first half, catching three passes for 54 yards, while Vincent Jackson had two for another 40.

That’s when the clamps came down, and the Buccaneers could do little to find their threats until the game was already out of reach.

“It was feeling our guys out, seeing how (they play),” Johnson said. “Seeing how he’s running routes; what his size felt like, what his speed felt like, and just adjusting after that.”

Joseph in particular seemed to take the challenge to heart, breaking up five passes thrown his way on Sunday. Coach Bill O’Brien noticed his veteran’s work as well.

“I thought he came up big for us," O’Brien said. “He was in tight coverage where he was able to get his arm up through the breadbasket and breakup some throws or the guy landed out of bounds.

“I thought Kareem (Jackson) competed hard and I think Kevin Johnson has a very bright future in this league and he competed hard. I thought those guys played what we asked them to do, which was tight match coverage."

A week ago in Charlottesville, the Texans secondary couldn’t keep up with the receivers of the Carolina Panthers, as quarterback Cam Newton had two long passes for touchdowns in the 24-17 Texans loss.

The same success could not be said for Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston, who finished 17-of-36, one touchdown, and one interception to safety Quitin Demps in the third quarter.

Houston was up to the challenge against two of the biggest receivers in the league, but their task doesn’t get any easier next week. The Texans will travel to Atlanta to take on the 3-0 Falcons, and will be matched up against arguably the best receiver in the game in Julio Jones. The former Alabama star is off to an all-world start, catching 34 balls for 440 yards and four touchdowns in three games.

But even with the nightmare matchup looming, nothing can be taken away from the effort Houston’s corners and safeties had Sunday.